Super Bowl XLVI
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
Ryan Callahan scored three goals as the New York Rangers beat Philadelphia 5-2 on Saturday for their seventh straight win over the Flyers.
Buried on the bench a little more than a week ago, the Knicks' Jeremy Lin is now the toast of New York.
Arc: After heartbreaking loss, Tyler Zeller and No. 5 North Carolina made an impressive statement with a 70-52 win over No. 19 Virginia.
CFT: Jordan Jefferson makes it clear he wasn't happy with LSU's game plan in the Tigers' BCS Championship Game loss to Alabama.
Tiger Woods moved within four shots of the lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Saturday with a 5-under 67.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
Luis Suarez's refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United's 2-1 win over rival Liverpool that lifted the defending champions to first place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won her sixth World Cup slalom of the season Saturday after overall leader Lindsey Vonn and defending champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch crashed out in the opening run on the windy Pyrenees course.
Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.
Getty ImagesMike Florio weighs in on the biggest storylines of Week 17:
1. If played right, Colts can use criticism to their benefit.
As the Indianapolis Colts face relentless local and national criticism for not trying to extend their 2009 record to 15-0, coach Jim Caldwell has an opportunity. He can use that criticism as a way to cajole the players into giving absolutely all they have in the hopes of winning the Super Bowl.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick definitely would find a way to turn the negative into a positive, even if it meant convincing the players that the enemy now included the media and the fans. Likewise, the Colts need to prove to the entire world that they won't allow this distraction to keep them from securing the ultimate prize.
Of course, the message might have to come from someone other than Caldwell, given that he helped create the mess. Ideally, quarterback Peyton Manning would be the one to rally the troops to overcome the suddenly unfavorable circumstances.
2. Tiebreaker procedures prove the lunacy of a coin flip to start overtime.
The mad scramble for the final two playoff berths in the AFC has reintroduced us to obscure concepts like "strength of victory," which comes into play when the first three devices for sorting out teams with equal records don't get it done.
For most playoff tiebreakers, the absolute last resort — the flip of a coin — comes only after 11 other tiebreakers have failed to resolve the impasse.
So why, then, is the flip of a coin the first option when determining who'll get the ball to start sudden-death overtime in a playoff game that is tied after 60 minutes?
Regardless of whether overtime should be overhauled to ensure that both teams get a crack at the ball before a winner is declared, something less arbitrary than a coin flip should be used to determine which of them will secure the right to take first possession.
If concepts like net points in common games and net touchdowns in all games are used before the flip of a coin when determining who gets in, something other than the flip of a coin should be used to help determine who gets to advance.
Why not use net yards or first downs or turnovers or something that rewards performance before allowing a team's season to rest on the crudest possible game of chance?
3. The Saints should pack it in against the Panthers.
The New Orleans Saints desperately need a jolt of confidence heading into the postseason. But they also need to be realistic; they'll be playing on the road against a Carolina team that has taken down the Vikings and the Giants the past two weeks by a combined score of 67-16.
The Saints already have locked up the top seed in the NFC. They need to be ready to win in the Superdome, not outdoors. Sure, the Super Bowl will be played without a roof, but the Saints won't get there if they can't win two games at home when it counts.
With the very real chance that the Panthers will administer the same kind of shellacking they applied to Minnesota and New York, the Saints' best bet might be to take a page from the Colts' playbook and rest their starters in preparation for a far greater challenge.
4. The Bengals should lay down for the Jets.
Though the Colts would never admit this, it's possible they threw in the towel against the Jets in the hopes of keeping the Steelers out of the playoffs. The Bengals should consider that same approach Sunday when they play the final regular-season game at Giants Stadium.
Four years ago, the Steelers strolled into Paul Brown Stadium and knocked the Bengals out in the wild-card round — after shredding Carson Palmer's knee.
Though the Steelers are a shell of what they were on defense, they have plenty of playoff experience. It makes as much sense for the Bengals to do what they have to do in order to keep the Steelers out. Just like the Colts might have done on Sunday.
5. The tables have turned for the wild-card fields.
In 2008, the Patriots rebounded from the Week 1 loss of quarterback Tom Brady to finish 11-5.
Their reward? A January unencumbered by football practices or games.
This year not one, but two, teams will qualify for wild-card berths in the AFC with records of 9-7 at best.
In the NFC, a single-digit win total typically is enough to get a team in. This time, the six playoff teams will each have at least 10 victories.
Whether it's an aberration or the start of a new trend remains to be seen. For now, it represents a stark contrast to the historical performances of the top teams in the two conferences.
6. Sunday's game in Arlington is huge.
The Eagles and the Cowboys both have nailed down playoff berths, but Sunday's late-afternoon matchup at Cowboys Stadium will have a dramatic impact on both teams' seeding.
The winner secures the NFC East crown. If Philly wins, it also receives a first-round bye. The Cowboys also would get a bye with a win and losses by the Vikings and Cardinals.
The loser will have to play on the road in the wild-card round. That team will be in a much tougher position to get to the Super Bowl.
7. Norv Turner is the Coach of the Year.
When Caldwell squandered a shot at perfection, he also likely blew his chance at winning the award in his first season as NFL head coach. With Caldwell out of the running, Chargers coach Norv Turner is most deserving of the honor. He has led his team to 10 straight wins after another slow start, and San Diego has moved all the way up to the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
Because the award is based only on regular-season performance, not even another January slide can change the fact that Turner has done the most to quietly lead his underrated team to an unexpected outcome.
8. In losing, the Vikings might have built some confidence.
Through the first half of Monday night's game in Chicago, the Vikings had been outscored 42-7 in six quarters of outdoor December football. In the next two quarters, the Vikings got hot in the ice-cold Illinois night, exploding for 30 points.
Despite their deflating overtime loss, the Vikings found a way to move the ball and generate points in games not played under a roof. That will help them tremendously if/when they have to travel to Philadelphia in mid-January.
9. The Giants need a long-term plan.
After leading them to a Super Bowl title in the 2007 season, Tom Coughlin signed a four-year, $21 million contract extension. Two years later, the Giants have a decision to make: When do they hire their next head coach?
They first need to compare the available candidates in 2010 to the candidates who might be available in 2011 and 2012. But based on the team's disappointing collapse this year, don't be completely shocked if the Giants decide that now is the time to begin the post-Coughlin era.
10. Mora can't afford another blowout.
Three years ago, Falcons coach Jim Mora mused about leaving Atlanta for Washington.
Whether he was serious or not, he got his wish.
This time around, Mora has yet to muse about leaving Seattle to reunite with Mike Holmgren, his former boss with the Seahawks, in Cleveland.
Regardless of whether Mora wants it, he might get it.
After explaining that he wanted Holmgren to return as the GM, Mora made it more difficult for him to mesh with Seattle's next general manager. Coaching the team into a deep crevasse also could make it difficult for Mora to have a job in 2010.
After an ugly home loss to the Buccaneers and an even uglier blowout loss at Green Bay, a bad outcome Sunday against the Titans could end Mora's run as Seahawks boss after just one season.
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
 | Slideshow |
 | Super Bowl XLVI shots See the best moments before, during and after the Giants' win over the Patriots more photos |
 | Video: Football from NBC Sports |
 Getty Images |
| Slideshow |
 | NBCSports.com |
Phil Pressey's first 3-point attempt went in off the glass. The sophomore guard, known more for flashy, no-look passes than his outside touch, took that sketchy success and ran with it.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
The United States swept favored Switzerland out of the Davis Cup on Saturday when Mardy Fish and Mike Bryan beat Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
